Grayton Beach State Park - Santa Rosa Beach, Florida (October 2021)

We had just about given up on going back to Grayton Beach State Park. It seemed that too many people had discovered it and it was just about impossible to find an opening there. We were surprised to find online a cancellation and quickly made our reservations. 

There are two loops in this campground. One appeared to be older than the other. Our site was in the older loop, which was upgraded a few years ago to full hookups. 

Both loops were next to a dune lake and some sites had a water view. Not ours. Our site backed into the woods and had a thick tree limb that was low enough to keep an eye on when parking Rosie, our Airstream trailer’s name. It is always a good idea to inspect your site before parking your RV to avoid hazards that could damage your camper. 

Rosie in Grayton Beach State Park avoiding the low tree limb

This is definitely a bicycle park, but not for the trails inside it. The best trails are through the beach communities surrounding the park. You could call them bike friendly communities. 

Along the bike path in Watercolor, Fla

One of the parks along the bike paths near Grayton Beach State Park

Speaking about the bike trails, we were surprised to see the number of people using them. I thought that we would not see too many people riding bikes around Grayton Beach during October. I was wrong!

Why were the bike paths, beaches and communities packed with people? We arrived at the peak of Fall Break. That helped explain the large number of families in the area. 

We started identifying what we called “bike rage” on the crowded paths. These were people riding too fast and too close to hikers and other bikers. As much as we enjoyed riding our bikes on the paths in the past, it wasn’t as much fun this time. 

A quick adjustment at the Bike Repair Station

The real star of this park was the beach. The Gulf was a short bike ride in the park from the campground. As with the surrounding communities, we were amazed at the number of day users coming into the park to use the beach facility. 

Becky and Suzy on a trail near our campsite

Rosie in the park

Our campsite

This has been one of our favorite campgrounds for many years. Sadly, this trip was memorable for all the wrong reasons. We will try to avoid camping during school breaks in the future. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were two loops in the campground
• One loop appeared to us to be newer than the other
• Our site was a back in
• Our site had shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with dirt and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie, our Airstream trailer. 
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
• There was a bathhouse in the campground. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we did not check on its condition
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 4G voice and data service over our campsites 
• We were able to watch CBS, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were CW, Circle, Dabl, ION and ME-TV
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park. The sandspurs were abundant making it difficult to walk dogs without having to stop and pull sandspurs from their paws and coats 

Selfie at the beach

Shadows as we rode our bikes

Sunrise 

The famous Grayton Beach trees

Sunset

Sunrise

Grayton Beach State Park - Santa Rosa Beach, Florida (September 2019)

A funny thing happened while on our way to camp for a week at Topsail Preserve State Park near Destin, Florida. We started talking about how we enjoyed Grayton Beach State Park more than Topsail.

This isn’t to say that Topsail isn’t a great park. We simply enjoy Grayton more. If that is so, you may be wondering why we reserved space in Topsail. 

It seems to us that Hurricane Michael changed the game when it comes to getting reservations in Florida State Parks. It was always difficult, but not impossible, to get reservations at a park along Florida’s Gulf coast. Hurricane Michael destroyed both camping loops in Port St Joe’s state park. That took 130 prime campsites out of circulation and increased the pressure on the remaining state parks. The result was that it is just about impossible to book a site in one of Florida’s Gulf Coast campgrounds. You find yourself reserving a site in a campground that isn’t on your “A-List” because it is available. 

One thing led to another as we talked about campgrounds and we decided to call Grayton to see if a last minute site had opened up. It had and we immediately reserved it.

Rosie at Grayton Beach State Park

We both grew up in Florida and know better than to make a beach trip in early September. It is normally too hot and too humid that time of the year and this one was no exception. 

We tend to reserve our beach trips in March and October, but those times were not options this year because we booked WBCCI (Wally Byam Caravan Club International, the Airstream owners association) caravans during those times. We were in North Carolina during the Spring and will be in Delaware during our favorite Fall beach camping time. That put us at the beach in early September, a time we know we shouldn’t be there.

Sunset at Grayton Beach State Park

While suffering through one of Grayton‘s hotter days, we started talking about our childhood homes in central Florida. How did our parents survive in houses without air conditioners? I remember my mother occasionally said we were going shopping in downtown Tampa because the big department stores had air conditioning. 

I also remembered the first house we moved to that had air conditioning. There was a window unit in the living room and another in my parent’s bedroom. I quickly learned how to position doors in that house so that a whiff of cool air would trickle down to my room. 

Somehow we lost that ability to cope with the heat and humidity without air conditioning and Rosie’s AC unit was up to the task. (Rosie is our 25 foot Airstream trailer.) Rosie was cozy even during the hottest days.

The beach

The downside of the heat was that we didn’t want to venture outside Rosie and spent too much time inside or, taking a page from my mother’s playbook, we went shopping during the hottest part of the day. 

We last camped in Grayton two year ago. They were closing the older loop back then to add 50 amp power and sewage connections there. Our fear was that they would remove too many trees from that loop. We were relieved to see the trees were still there. 

The campsites were renumbered since our last visit. We found that our favorite site numbers are now associated with not-as-nice sites. 

We were able to ride our bicycles by getting up early and going out before breakfast. Temperatures were too high for enjoyable rides by 8:30 a.m. We also tried to get out about a half hour before sunset, if the temperatures dropped enough.

Early morning bike rides

Stopping to take a photo

Grayton is a park you want to bring your bikes to. There are some great trails in Watercolor and Seaside. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site was a back-in
• Our site was dirt and gravel 
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection 
• Our site had a sewer connection. All sites in this campground now have sewer connections 
• The campground has restrooms and showers in each camping loop. They were clean and well maintained 
• The campground doesn’t provide a WiFi signal
• AT&T placed four bars of  4G service for voice and data 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS stations using Rosie’s TV antenna. We also saw digital channels CW, Grit, Laff, ME-TV and THiS. After spending a small fortune to fix Rosie’s TV antenna, I’m not sure we accomplished anything as signals drifted in and out. It is hard to tell because we have always had trouble picking up TV stations while camping at Grayton 
• We quickly learned that biting black flies own the park in September. We never saw these pests when camping there during late fall and early spring 

While walking Suzy, our Yorkie dog, around our loop one afternoon, a fellow camper asked me where the dumpster was. I told her and we chatted for a few moments about camping. This was her family’s maiden trip in their new camper. They were heading from central Florida to Yellowstone, a huge undertaking especially since they had no reservations for the entire trip. 

That sounded familiar to me. My father bought a 16 foot camper when I was probably 10 years-old and took the family to Yellowstone on our inaugural trip.  My parents had to quickly learn the ropes of traveling with a RV. That trip was also one of my best childhood memories. 

I hope that family has a great trip. They are heading there much later in the year than my family did years ago and will encounter snow and freezing temperatures along the way. If they make it, the weather will become part of that family’s fokelore in years to come. 

The dunes

Still looking for the alligator!

A kayaker in the early morning

The famous Grayton Beach trees

A selfie in Watercolor

Seen during our morning bike ride in Watercolor

The Airstream food trailers in Watercolor

The sun reflecting off some trees on a hiking path

Close to sunset time

Grayton Beach State Park - Florida (October 2017)

We had heard rumors for several years that the original loop of the Grayton Beach State Park was going to be updated. This was the more rustic loop in the campground and featured some sites right on the water. Some campers speculated that the loop would be cleared of trees and scrubs so that sewers and 50 amp electrical service could be easily added to those campsites.

Grayton Beach State Park

We saw the construction sign when we turned into the park. We focused on the words “sewer project” and wondered if the original loop was about to become a parking lot in appearance.

Construction work at Grayton Beach State Park

The ranger who checked us in had good news and bad news about the construction. The good news was that the contractors were not supposed to remove any trees while adding sewer connections and 50 amp electrical service to the campsites in the original loop. The bad news was that the park was going to stop taking reservations for the that loop after Labor Day 2018 and the loop would be closed for a year. 

Not all of the campsites in the original loop are going to be upgraded. Several campsites in this loop will be passed over because trees are in the way of the upgrades and that is OK with us to protect the look of this campground. 

When we made our reservations, our first choice was to be in the original loop. We were fortunate to camp in one of the sites along the lake last time and hoped to stay in the same site this year. It ended up being that all the sites in that loop large enough to hold Rosie, our 25 foot Airstream trailer, were booked. There were a couple of sites available in the newer loop and that meant our visit this year would be different than in previous ones.

Rosie in the Newer Camping Loop

Our site

There are some advantages to camping in the newer loop that we overlooked in the past. First, the newer loop has full connections including sewer. Second, the road around the newer loop is paved. That made a huge reduction in the amount of dust collected in Suzy’s coat. (Suzy is our Yorkie.)

Grayton Beach State Park is just outside the Watercolor community. There are some great trails and bike paths in this area, so this is a park you bring your bikes to.

One the bike path to Watercolor

Steve and Suzy in a park near Grayton Beach State Park

A boathouse in Seaside

Becky and Suzy on the foot bridge

There was an Environmental Day in the park while we were camping there. Several organizations had displays in the park. The one that caught our attention was a nature talk about the intercoastal waterway. The speaker mostly talked about the alligators living in and near the park. We always saw the “alligator” signs around the park, but never an alligator. We left that talk convinced that gators were in the park and that we may see one while on one of our visits.

The alligator sign

Here are some specifics about this park:

• There are two loops in this park. This was our first time camping in the newer loop. 
• Our site was gravel and level. 
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service. 
• Our site had water and sewer connections. 
• AT&T placed a strong 4G voice and data signal over our site. 
• TV has been a hit-or-miss deal in this park. This visit has to be classified as a miss because we could only receive the ABC affiliate this time. 
• The bathhouse in the  newer loop is, as you guessed, newer and up-to-date. We will see if the bathhouse in the older loop is renovated during the construction project next year. 
• This is a pet-friendly Park. 

It will be harder than normal to get reservations in Grayton Beach State Park for the next year or two. The good news is that the park will have more great sites in both loops when the renovation is completed. 

The beach

The beach

The "famous" trees at Grayton Beach State Park

View from on the the trails inside Grayton Beach State Park

The Gulf near sunset time

Close to shore

Sunset over Rosie

Sunset

A fly-by

Cool day at the beach

Grayton Beach State Park - Fall 2016

Some parks are "special" and they deserve being added to our list of favorites that we want to visit every year. Grayton Beach State Park qualifies as one of our A-List parks and we try to camp there in Rosie's, our 25 foot Airstream trailer, at least once every year.

Grayton Beach State Park

It is interesting to us because not everyone shares this love for Grayton Beach State Park. We frequently share our favorite campgrounds with fellow campers during the year and have discovered that most people have heard of Grayton Beach and they either love or hate it.

Hate it? We think it is beautiful. The loop we try to camp in is very rustic and a cloud of dust seems to follow every car as it passes by, but it reminds us both of the Florida we grew up in before the condo builders discovered the beach.

Rosie in the Bay camping loop

Looking out over the water

The beach in the distance

Looking at the Western Lake

The trees before The Trees

There are two camping loops at this park. The first has a paved road around it, several concrete pads for your rigs and water, electric and sewer connections. The second has a dirt road, dirt camping pads and water and electric service. The draw for this loop is that it is closer to the Bay and some sites have nice water views.

The famous trees outside Grayton Beach State Park

Suzy and Steve behind Rosie

The Western Lake

Becky works on her watercolor paintings inside Rosie

We haven't seen an alligator yet, only this sign

Dust was an issue this time. We were in the park after a long spell without rain and the roads and sites were dusty. Make that very dusty. We quickly discovered that we needed to hold Suzy, our Yorkie dog, as we walked along the dirt roads of the campground until we reached one of the paved roads.
Otherwise, she started looking like a coal miner.

Since the Bay loop does not have sewer connections, you need to bring your sewage tote. There is a dump station in the Bay loop, but it is in an awkward location. You can easily block the Bay loop road while using it and if you dump while leaving the park, you will end up having to take an encore lap around the loop. I don't qualify as an expert on locating dump stations, but I think that location was picked by a rookie in the park-design business.

Hiking trail at the park

Selfie

A storm on the way

We probably need to make an apology at this point to the parks we recently visited and complained about their water pressure. Yes, I was once again starting to document the low water pressure at this park when I started thinking about the odds of every park we stayed at having pressure issues. So, I started a "science project" where I disconnected various gadgets (Y-connector, pressure regulator, water filter, etc.) from the connection. It appears that the Y-connector also included a pressure regulator that bumped the pressure down to around 22 pounds at this park. Once that was removed from the setup, we had a healthy 40 pounds of pressure.

Temperatures dipped into the "uncomfortable" range during the nights. Our trusty electric heater kept us warm and we didn't have to fire up Rosie's furnace.

Here are some specifics about this park:

• There are two camping loops in the park. The camping fees are different between the loops because of the differences in connections and paved roads.
• Our site had 20 and 30 amp electrical service. I am not sure if any other sites provided 50 amp service.
• Our site had water and electrical connections, but no sewer connection.
• Our site was gravel and dirt and reasonably level. (Several sites in the other loop had concrete pads.)
• AT&T placed a strong 4G signal over our site for both voice and data.
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS and CW TV stations using Rosie's antenna. We also saw ME-TV, Grit, MY and Bounce digital stations.
• We started noticing that the bathhouses in the Bay loop need some attention. They are outdated and we noticed some mold issues. The bathhouse in the paved loop is updated and in good condition.
• This was a pet-friendly park.

This is a park that you want to bring your bikes to because there are some great paths to explore. They were building a new bike path across the bay, but it seemed to be on the wrong side of the road. We will see how that turned out on our next visit to Grayton Beach State Park.

Becky and Suzy

The beach

Rosie loaded up and ready to pull out in the morning